The present invention relates to providing flavorful and aromatic compositions, and in particular to processes for providing flavorful and aromatic compositions similar to those characteristic of certain tobaccos. Such compositions are useful as additives to tobacco cut filler for cigarette manufacture.
Popular smoking articles, such as cigarettes, have a substantially cylindrical rod shaped structure and include a charge of smokable material, such as shreds or strands of tobacco material (i.e., in cut filler form), surrounded by a paper wrapper, thereby forming a tobacco rod. It has become desirable to manufacture a cigarette having a cylindrical filter element aligned in an end-to-end relationship with the tobacco rod. Typically, a filter element includes cellulose acetate tow circumscribed by plug wrap, and is attached to the tobacco rod using a circumscribing tipping material. Many cigarettes include flavorful and aromatic compounds in order to provide certain flavor and aroma characteristics to those cigarettes.
Many types of smoking products and improved smoking articles have been proposed through the years as improvements upon, or as alternatives to, the popular smoking articles. Recently, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,708,151 to Shelar; 4,714,082 to Banerjee et al.; 4,756,318 to Clearman et al.; and 4,793,365 to Sensabaugh, Jr. et al.; and European Patent Publication Nos. 212,234 and 277,519 propose cigarettes and pipes which comprise a fuel element, an aerosol generating means physically separate from the fuel element, and a separate mouth-end piece. Such types of smoking articles provide natural tobacco flavors to the smoker thereof by heating, rather than burning, tobacco in various forms.
Flavorful and aromatic compounds are important components of smoking articles and provide improved taste and aroma to the smoking article. Thus improved processes for providing flavor and aromatic substances and flavorable and aromatic forms of tobacco are desirable. For example, various processes for producing and using tobacco extracts, aroma oils and concentrates are proposed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,136,321 to Davis; 3,316,919 to Green; 3,424,171 to Rooker; 4,421,126 to Gellatly and 4,506,682 to Mueller and European Patent Publication No. 338,831 to Clapp et al.
There also has been interest in reacting amino acids and sugars to produce food flavors. For example Shu et al, Thermal Generation of Aromas, ACS Sym. Ser., 409, pp 229-241 (1989) proposes the thermal reaction of cystine and 2,5-dimethyl-4-hydroxy-3-(2H)-furanone to generate a meat flavor. Lane et al, The Maillard Reaction in Foods and Nutrition, I, ACS Sym. Ser., 215, pp 141-158 (1983) proposes the thermal reaction of various amino acids and sugars, and reports the effect thereof on the odor of the resulting mixture. U.S. Pat. No. Re. 32,095 to Wu, et al. proposes reacting sugars with ammonium hydroxide in the presence of a trace amount of an amino acid to provide flavorants suitable for use in smoking products.
It would be highly desirable to provide flavorful and aromatic compounds which compliment the flavor and aroma characteristics of smokable materials.